Singer Dionne Warwick, five-time Grammy award winner, has written a biography titled My Life as I See It. In the book Warwick writes about life behind the music. She has had some of music’s greatest hits including: “Don’t Make Me Over,” “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” and “I Say a Little Prayer.”

In an interview with The Today Show’s Meredith Vieira, Warwick chats about her new book, her first hit, and her singing career. She also talks about cousin Whitney Houston and her recent tour in Europe that people reportedly walked out on.

WATCH WARWICK’S INTERVIEW ON THE TODAY SHOW

“It’s unfortunate when singers, especially, this muscle is a very important thing that has to be exercised most of the time” Warwick says, while pointing at her throat, “And for a period of time, Whitney didn’t open her mouth to sing a note, and because of the hit record of course they wanted to rush her out and get her on motion and she just wasn’t ready.”

Warwick also mentions her first standing ovation, which was non-surprisingly due to her strong voice, at 6-years-old. It was in her grandfather’s church.

“I closed my eyes as tight as I could get them, and opened my mouth and started singing, and I noticed that everybody was smiling so I must have been doing something right.”